January/February 2020 Tevet/Shevat/Adar 5780
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Temple Israel the BULLETIN January/February 2020 Tevet/Shevat/Adar 5780 TU B’SHEVAT Monday, February 10, 2020 The “birthday of the trees” is a time for seders, tree-planting and more. Worship Schedule Holiday Dates Times SHABBAT Friday, January 3 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, January 4 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Vayigash SHABBAT Thursday, January 9 7:30 am Morning Minyan Friday, January 10 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service 7:00 pm Bring your own dinner Saturday, January 11 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Vayechi Services led by TIRS Grade 7, Musical Guest Daniel Geigerman SHABBAT Friday, January 17 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, January 18 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Shemot Thursday, January 23 7:30 am Morning Minyan SHABBAT Friday, January 24 5:30 pm TOTally Shabbat 6:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, January 25 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Va’era SHABBAT Friday, January 31 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, February 1 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Bo SHABBAT Friday, February 7 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, February 8 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Beshalach Musical Guest Daniel Geigerman & Temple Liturgical Choir Thursday, February 13 7:30 am Morning Minyan SHABBAT Friday, February 14 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service 7:00 pm Bring your own dinner Saturday, February 15 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Yitro SHABBAT Friday, February 21 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, February 22 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Mishpatim Shabbat Shekalim Thursday, February 27 7:30 am Morning Minyan SHABBAT Friday, February 28 5:30 pm TOTally Shabbat 6:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, February 29 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Terumah Social Action Shabbat: Strenghthening the Sukkah that Represents our Ottawa Home (see page 6) SHABBAT Friday, March 6 6:15 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service Saturday, March 7 10:15 am Shabbat Service, Parsha Tetzavah Shabbat Zachor 2 | TEMPLE ISRAEL BULLETIN - January/February 2020 From the Pulpit President’s Message It is a pleasure to join other lay lead- It’s not every day that you have ers who work so diligently for our sa- the opportunity to join 5000+ cred community. Let me share a little brothers and sisters for Kabbalat about myself: Shabbat services. I and our all • I hold dear the Jewish values of star delegation of Temple lead- learning, tikkun olam to repair our ers had this unique opportunity world – but even more so translating recently at the Union for Reform these into actions: inclusion, diversi- Judaism Biennial in Chicago. ty, connectedness, welcoming. True, the room was diverse in • My Jewish journey took a big step in every way, but we shared so 1991 when my husband and I joined much as Reform Jews commit- Temple and our daughter Sarah at- ted to leading our people into the next generation. tended Religious School; Our values, our passion, our Torah bound us together • Over the years, I participated in several ‘Introduction as one. to Judaism’ courses, we joyously celebrated Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah, travelled on a Temple trip to Israel with our ex- A few highlights to share: tended family and in 2006, with Rabbi Garten’s support, I became a Jew by Choice; • The president of our movement, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, • In short, my connections with our community have focused us on expanding the concept of big tent Juda- steadily grown. I consider Temple my Jewish home ism. Whether considering ethnicity, gender identity, where together we worship, learn, celebrate, comfort, family formation, just to name a few topics, we are share and care for one another. called to affirm the countless ways to serve Jewishly. He introduced the term “Jew adjacent” as in members For the coming two years, I hope to focus on three ar- of our community who are not formally Jewish, but eas: support their Jewish families and community. The term “Jew adjacent” better describes the commit- First: I will work to nurture a collaborative and effective ment offered by these loved ones, rather than defin- sacred partnership with our clergy, staff, other lay lead- ing oneself based on what one is not, ie. non Jew. ers and congregants. This year we are blessed with the arrival of Rabbi Mikelberg - this is a wonderful opportu- • We were inspired to serve as loud and proud voices nity to work together from the beginning to strengthen for pluralism in Israel. Our progressive brand is our sacred community. under threat by the Orthodox monopoly of the state and we were reminded of the need to demonstrate Second: I hope to develop a leadership pipeline, partic- both our love of Israel and our commitment to our ularly to engage younger leaders. I will be looking for liberal practices. A concrete way to show our support new ways to invite congregants to contribute creativity is to join ARZA Canada as a voting member. If you and energy as we work together for the shared future have not already done so, please sign up right away of Temple Israel. at:www.arzacanada.org. Third: our building, our physical home. Almost 45 years • I had the honour of representing the Temple on a old, its aging infrastructure needs rejuvenation. Tem- panel examining young family programming. Rather ple’s building is not only a physical home where we wor- than sit orderly, we left our rows and explored our ship and celebrate but also a hub for progressive Jewish youthful sides with song and creativity. Our young- voices and actions such as education and social action est members will carry our hopes and dreams, we’re programs, school and youth activities and inspiring mu- called to prioritize their place in our spiritual homes. sic. Just three thoughts, many more to come. A todah As we face essential upgrades to building systems, safe- rabah to Margot Montgomery, Sue Potechin, Mark ty, security and accessibility that are estimated to cost Kamins, Sue Fried and Dara Lithwick for represent- $2-3M, it makes sense to plan thoughtfully to maximize ing Temple Israel in this important mission. Mark these investments to meet future needs. Our vision is your calendars for Dec 2021 and come join us in our guide. Washington. Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg Lastly, I believe in communicating. I will strive to lis- ten to congregants, consult committees and share the Temple challenges and results of the Board. If you can help Biennial with communications, it would be a mitzvah! Shema is attend- our command to listen, with our ears, our hearts, our ees: Dara, minds, our souls. Sue, Mark, Rabbi, Please join me on the journey ahead! Margot & Susan It is my pleasure to acknowledge the legacies of past presidents Steve Asherman, (2017-19) and Patsy Royer (article continued bottom of page 4) January/February 2020 - TEMPLE ISRAEL BULLETIN | 3 School News Past Events at Temple FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK Our new TIRS and TI ShinShinit, Shai Sagi, arrived from Israel at the end of November. She is settling in nicely both in our school and shul and has started to run programs with our kids in most grades starting with our Chanukah program on December 8th. Shai has hit the ground running and we look forward to an amazing year with her. She will generally be working in the school on Sundays and Mondays and some Wednes- days as well as joining us for Shabbat morning services approximately twice per month starting in January. Please introduce yourself to her if you see her. The Knitting Pilgrim, Kirk Dunn, captivated the 200 attendees with his personal fifteen-year journey towards November and December were very busy for our Grades understanding the common heritage and values of 7-10 in TI High. We had guest speakers that engaged our Judaism, Christianity and Islam, expressed through his older students in very deep and thoughtful discussions creation of the three large knitted tapestries. The audi- on antisemitism and antizionism in our lives and in the ence included congregants of sponsors Temple Israel and media. We learned how to continue to support Israel in a All Saints Anglican Westboro, TIRS and Taste of Juda- variety of ways even if we don’t agree with all of the poli- ism students, members of the Muslim community and cies or goings on. We also attended the Knitting Pilgrim Ottawa knitters. Proceeds will be used to support spon- multifaith program where some of our students actually sored refugee families of both congregations. learned how to knit! Our JYG (Junior Youth Group) continues to offer creative programming that brings up to 25 Grade 6-8 participants. Your child does not have to be a student in TIRS to join Temple TIRS students learning us! JBotics is underway thanks to a microgrant from JFO, to knit at the Knitting Pilgrim Dungeons and Dragons with a Jewish twist has returned, program. and our tweens are already gearing up for a Trivia after- noon on January 5th. Plans are underway for a Shabbaton with Temple Solel in Mississauga January 31st to February 2nd. (See flyer). There is also the possibility that we will be joined by Temple Emanuel Beth Shalom in Montreal. I met with the Directors of Education from both synagogues at the URJ Biennial. I hope to be able to plan this type of exchange yearly moving forward. TIRS, JYG and FROSTY joined the rabbi’s installation President’s Article (continued) Friday night service and then had mixers and a movie. This weekend, we will be volunteering at In From the Cold (2015-17).